Secondary school choice in England

The EPI report used new national census data on the preferences of parents applying for a place at a state secondary school in September 2016.

It considered the number of schools that parents apply to, the quality of those schools (based on their Ofsted rating) and who is successful in securing a place in their school of choice.

While there are some oddities in the findings, perhaps the most alarming is the data suggesting that a third of parents only specify one school when making applications. Although, since 95% get an offer from one of their top three preferences, maybe this isn't such an issue as it might seem.

Another oddity is that 5% nominate a most preferred school that is rated as less than good by Ofsted despite having a good or outstanding school as their nearest school. Also worth noting is that families eligible for the pupil premium are much more likely than others to fall into this group.